The Community Library Network will celebrate Banned Books Week from Sept. 22 to Sept. 28.

Libraries in Hayden, Rathdrum, Spirit Lake, Athol, Post Falls, Harrison and Pinehurst — as well as the Bookmobile — will be decked out with “Free the Books” displays to encourage readers to pick up a book on the banned list and check it out.

“The freedom to choose what to read is a precious commodity afforded by the First Amendment,” Library Network Communications Director Anne Abrams said. “People are always surprised that their favorite books have been challenged or banned.”

Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. It highlights the value of free and open access to information. Libraries across the nation join together in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas.

Censorship is such an important issue that library staff and the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre produced a play about the right to read.

“Banned Books,” a 30-minute show, will be performed at 2 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Post Falls Library, at 6 p.m. Sept. 25 the Hayden Library, and at 2 p.m. Sept. 28 at the Rathdrum Library. The programs are free; no reservations required. The audience acts as the jury as a prosecutor and defense lawyer argue whether three controversial books should be banned.

Many readers likely will recognize the judge, Jubal Harshaw, a character featured in four of Robert A. Heinlein’s novels. The prosecutor is Elizabeth Bennet, created by Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice. The defense attorney is Atticus Finch from “To Kill a Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee. All three of these authors have had their works challenged or banned, as have the books on trial: “Where the Wild Things Are,” “13 Reasons Why” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Post Falls staff member Mikayla Kittilstved said Banned Book Week is her favorite time of year.

“My friends know I am a banned-book fanatic because I am always recommending one title or another to them,” she said. "I want them to experience the stories for themselves and not be put off because somebody, somewhere doesn’t think they should read it.”

Kittilstved is a fan of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, books that have been banned from some school libraries because of their depiction of witchcraft and wizardry. She thinks it fortunate that the series is alive and well on library bookshelves. “So many kids stretched their reading skills because of the intriguing tale,” she said.

Harry Potter is so popular that Kittilstved is hosting a free Harry Potter trivia contest for adults and teens at 6 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Post Falls Library.

At 6 p.m. Oct. 3, the Post Falls Library presents “Burning Harry Potter, and Other Ways of Misreading Fantasy.” The series made the Top 100 list of frequently challenged books from 1990 to 2003, mainly for religious reasons. Brian Atteberry, Idaho Humanities Council presenter, will examine the way fantasy draws on traditions of myth and magic to create modern metaphors.

Attebery has been honored for his work on science fiction, fantasy and children’s literature, including the Science Fiction Research Association’s Pilgrim Award for lifetime achievement in scholarship in science fiction and fantasy and the Idaho Humanities Council’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Humanities. His most recent projects include new editions of the work of Ursula K. Le Guin for the Library of America and researching the relationship between dreaming and fantastic literature.

The Coeur d'Alene Public Library won't have any events but will have titles on display up for Banned Books Week.

"All libraries are very conscious of the fact that we need to be able to provide (for) the needs of the community," Coeur d'Alene Public Library communication coordinator David Townsend said. "It's not our business to be picking and choosing books based on one or two complaints."

If book complaints are received, library staff and board members follow a review process.

"We mainly rely on families to decide what's best for themselves," he said. "We have a requirement on our library card application that when parents approve it, their kids can have access to anything in the library."

At Sorensen Magnet School of the Arts and Humanities, library manager Lisa Rakes has a fondness for those off-limit tomes.

“I love Banned Books Week,” she said.

Sorensen shelves titles such as “Harriet the Spy” by Louise Fitzhugh and “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” by Bill Martin Jr., which once were on the no list.

“‘Harriet the Spy’ was banned because at one time they did not feel that children should sneak around and try and solve mysteries,” Rakes said. “With ‘Brown Bear, Brown Bear,’ Eric Carle was confused for another radical writer.”

She said she loves Banned Books Week because it gives young readers opportunities to understand different viewpoints.

“Our kids need to have those conversations with their families and teachers to find out what the purpose was for the language or the situation,” she said. “There’s a lot of value in seeing someone else’s perspective and the life they’ve lived.”

“We’re all different,” Rakes said. “Any child needs to see themselves in the library, and if we start banning books, we might be banning a book a kid relates to. It gives us a better idea of humanity and understanding. You don’t have to buy into it, you don’t have to agree with it, but it gives you perspective and empathy, which we could use a lot of.”